pointed commentary on current affairs in Jamaica and the Caribbean

The Jamaican government has, disappointingly, again succumbed to the lure of populism and bandwaggonism (to coin a particularly apt word). Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller declared proudly in Parliament that “help is on the way” for Jamaican Olympic swimmer Alia Atkinson who has been making the country proud, but who has said she needs help to continue.

We have to chart our own way, however. If we talk about sports development and sports as a business

Preparing for an event at the National StadiumPhoto by DJ Miller

(and if we’re not we should be) we have to take the development of our athletes seriously. Cheering when they do us proud and then walking away again can no longer be a sufficient or acceptable response. (Shout-out here to sports management expert Carole Beckford who speaks and blogs about these very issues)

My producer asked the (effective) Minister of Sports for a comment and we were told that the government “was looking at the issue.” Really. And now, months on, the “looking” hasn’t manage to produce either a statement of intent, or anything to suggest that a structured, considered proposal is being developed.

Let’s be clear, athletes do get some assistance, but it appears ad hoc. The Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) says it does assist athletes, but cannot provide as much assistance as they want. Olympians Juliet Cuthbert and Grace Jackson have both said they think more can be done. Cuthbert suggests monthly stipends, for example to help defray expenses, and Jackson told me that she had submitted a detailed proposal to the JAAA which had not been acted on. She said it was being examined again, and perhaps if she runs for and wins the Presidency of the organisation, she could help effect change.

The point is that a structured programme of assistance is necessary. Bring together the various avenues of financial assistance, determine the basis on which an athlete at different levels will get assistance, and publish the criteria. You do not want any accusations of favouritism and cronyism.

These athletes deliver real value to the country. The waves of inspiration, joy and patriotism evoked every time the Olympics and World Championships roll around cannot be replicated.

Jamaican flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let’s do what we can to ride those waves of patriotism. Let’s look beyond one excellent athlete who happens to be in the public spotlight at the moment and for once, show some real vision.

This is an absolutely fundamental issue!! Which they are just “looking at” now? Of course, not at all unique to Jamaica, and my respect for many of the Olympic athletes grows when I realize what struggles and sacrifices they make just to compete there. It seems to me that the government has just been “riding the hype” about a handful of athletes, and not looking at the foundation. But as you say, it’s not exactly a big surprise is it – it has been talked and lobbied about over and over…in the media and elsewhere. Sigh. Short term thinking, again.